AI deepfake videos of doctors and academics are being used to push fake health claims and promote supplement products, an investigation has found.
British charity Full Fact has uncovered a series of social media accounts using AI-generated videos of health experts to promote health products, directing viewers to US supplements company Wellness Nest.
Among those being impersonated was Professor David Taylor-Robinson, a children’s public health doctor from the University of Liverpool.
Dr Taylor-Robinson was alerted to footage of him at a real appearance at a Public Health England (PHE) conference, altered to show him talking about “thermometer leg”, a supposed symptom of menopause in which women who become too hot at night extend one leg beyond the blanket.
He told Full Fact: “One of my friends said his wife had seen it and was almost taken in by it, until their daughter said it’s obviously been faked.
“So people who know me could have been taken in by it. That is concerning.”
The video was made to show Dr Taylor-Robinson encouraging viewers to purchase a natural probiotic, which “features ten science-backed plant extracts, including turmeric, black cohosh, DIM, moringa, specifically chosen to tackle menopausal symptoms.
“Women I work with often report deeper sleep, fewer hot flushes, and brighter mornings within weeks,” the video said.
The university’s communications team reported the videos to TikTok, but the social media giant said no violations had been found. Dr Taylor-Robinson and his children then reported the content to TikTok, which determined that it did break community guidelines, and would have its visibility restricted but not taken down.
TikTok later apologised for a moderating error and said it had made a mistake in not deleting the posts, which have now been removed along with the account itself.
The video of Dr Taylor-Robinson amassed more than 365,000 views, 7,691 likes, 459 comments and 2,878 bookmarks before it was removed.
The account sharing the videos of Dr Taylor-Robinson, @better_healthy_life, was also found to have posted fake videos of Russian economist Natalia Zubarevich, British cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra and former chief executive of PHE, Duncan Selbie.
Mr Selbie, who was also altered to appear to be talking about menopause symptoms and remedies, said he was amazed by the videos. “It wasn’t funny in the sense that people pay attention to these things,” he told Full Fact.
The videos typically conclude with an urge for viewers to buy remedies from Wellness Nest, which include probiotics and Himalayan shilajit that are not listed on the company's website.
Earlier this year, deepfake videos of the late Dr Michael Mosley and Dr Idrees Mughal promoting products from the US-based company were also found.
Wellness Nest told Full Fact it had never used AI-generated content and that the videos were “100% unaffiliated” with its business.
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